Gift a Foundation

A house that costs only a few thousand dollars sounds too good to be true. But New Story, an urban development nonprofit, is pioneering a collaborative model that transforms slums into thriving communities for about $6,000 per home. And they also include access to clean water, sanitation, and power.
Co-founder Brett Hagler got the idea during a hurricane-relief volunteer trip to Haiti in 2010. He wanted to improve emergency efforts by developing sustainable, weather-resistant, long-term housing. New Story works on design with local families, sources durable materials from local experts, and hires local workers—changing emergency relief from a band-aid solution to a long-lasting difference.
Their model is transparent, too, with 100% of your donation going to fund a home. Whether it’s a roof or a window, help give a family the foundation for stability and opportunity. You’ll see the impact, too, in a video showing your sponsored family moving into their new home

New Story

Developing Thriving Communities

Gift a Foundation

A house that costs only a few thousand dollars sounds too good to be true. But New Story, an urban development nonprofit, is pioneering a collaborative model that transforms slums into thriving communities for about $6,000 per home. And they also include access to clean water, sanitation, and power.
Co-founder Brett Hagler got the idea during a hurricane-relief volunteer trip to Haiti in 2010. He wanted to improve emergency efforts by developing sustainable, weather-resistant, long-term housing. New Story works on design with local families, sources durable materials from local experts, and hires local workers—changing emergency relief from a band-aid solution to a long-lasting difference.
Their model is transparent, too, with 100% of your donation going to fund a home. Whether it’s a roof or a window, help give a family the foundation for stability and opportunity. You’ll see the impact, too, in a video showing your sponsored family moving into their new home

Grommet Launch Conversation

Grommet Launch Conversation

Brett

Hi! I'm Brett Hagler, CEO and one of the Founders and of New Story. We believe a safe home unlocks potential. Every dollar of your donation goes to build safe homes and transform slums into thriving communities. Each donation is paired directly with a family and when they move into their new home you get a video to share in the excitement. We're honored to share our mission with The Grommet family today!

Cynthia – Grommet Team

12/16/2016 5:07 PM

How is New Story’s approach different from similar organizations? How do you define success and what is your team’s "secret sauce” to success?

Brett – Special Guest

12/16/2016 5:12 PM

We created New Story so donors don’t have to ever ask “will my donation actually make a difference?” We do that by digitally connected donors to family stories, 100% of the donation goes towards home building, and we send donors videos of the family helped moving into their new safe home.

We define success by homes built and proving it to every donor that made it happen.

Our secret sauce is a culture founded on innovation and technical competencies that team members have. Having same mindset and culture as a for-profit technology startup. This was the beginning of our culture, which is now New Story’s #1 asset and the reason we’re able to do things differently and more efficiently than larger organizations in our space.

Cynthia – Grommet Team

12/16/2016 5:07 PM

A $6,000 home is almost unbelievable. What reactions have you gotten from people that learn about New Story for the first time? What about the communities you work with? How have they reacted?

Brett – Special Guest

12/16/2016 5:12 PM

Most common reaction is how can a home be $6k? Because it’s ~500 sq feet, in some of the poorest areas of the world, and built by local workers using local materials.

The people in the communities react by wanting to work hard to help with the process.

Cynthia – Grommet Team

12/16/2016 5:08 PM

What were some unexpected challenges and rewards in trying to redefine a process that has been the same for so long?

Brett – Special Guest

12/16/2016 5:13 PM

Scaling video for every family moving in, but it’s caused us to realize that building internal software and software for our local partners to use will be our secret sauce in the future. This is software that no one from the public will see, but will allow us to scale our unique content and impact data processes.

We’ve had move-in video growing pains, but the positive side is we’ve realized how important building technology is for internal/partner use is.

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New Story

Developing Thriving Communities

Gift a Foundation

A house that costs only a few thousand dollars sounds too good to be true. But New Story, an urban development nonprofit, is pioneering a collaborative model that transforms slums into thriving communities for about $6,000 per home. And they also include access to clean water, sanitation, and power.

Co-founder Brett Hagler got the idea during a hurricane-relief volunteer trip to Haiti in 2010. He wanted to improve emergency efforts by developing sustainable, weather-resistant, long-term housing. New Story works on design with local families, sources durable materials from local experts, and hires local workers—changing emergency relief from a band-aid solution to a long-lasting difference.

Their model is transparent, too, with 100% of your donation going to fund a home. Whether it’s a roof or a window, help give a family the foundation for stability and opportunity. You’ll see the impact, too, in a video showing your sponsored family moving into their new homeRead MoreRead Less

Grommet Launch Conversation

Brett

Hi! I'm Brett Hagler, CEO and one of the Founders and of New Story. We believe a safe home unlocks potential. Every dollar of your donation goes to build safe homes and transform slums into thriving communities. Each donation is paired directly with a family and when they move into their new home you get a video to share in the excitement. We're honored to share our mission with The Grommet family today!

Cynthia – Grommet Team

12/16/2016 5:07 PM

How is New Story’s approach different from similar organizations? How do you define success and what is your team’s "secret sauce” to success?

Brett – Special Guest

12/16/2016 5:12 PM

We created New Story so donors don’t have to ever ask “will my donation actually make a difference?” We do that by digitally connected donors to family stories, 100% of the donation goes towards home building, and we send donors videos of the family helped moving into their new safe home.

We define success by homes built and proving it to every donor that made it happen.

Our secret sauce is a culture founded on innovation and technical competencies that team members have. Having same mindset and culture as a for-profit technology startup. This was the beginning of our culture, which is now New Story’s #1 asset and the reason we’re able to do things differently and more efficiently than larger organizations in our space.

Cynthia – Grommet Team

12/16/2016 5:07 PM

A $6,000 home is almost unbelievable. What reactions have you gotten from people that learn about New Story for the first time? What about the communities you work with? How have they reacted?

Brett – Special Guest

12/16/2016 5:12 PM

Most common reaction is how can a home be $6k? Because it’s ~500 sq feet, in some of the poorest areas of the world, and built by local workers using local materials.

The people in the communities react by wanting to work hard to help with the process.

Cynthia – Grommet Team

12/16/2016 5:08 PM

What were some unexpected challenges and rewards in trying to redefine a process that has been the same for so long?

Brett – Special Guest

12/16/2016 5:13 PM

Scaling video for every family moving in, but it’s caused us to realize that building internal software and software for our local partners to use will be our secret sauce in the future. This is software that no one from the public will see, but will allow us to scale our unique content and impact data processes.

We’ve had move-in video growing pains, but the positive side is we’ve realized how important building technology is for internal/partner use is.